Joe Ledley was reduced to tears when he discovered the injury he thought was a calf strain turned out to be the broken leg that threatened to wreck his Euro 2016 dreams.

Ledley was left in shock when scans revealed an injury picked up playing for Crystal Palace turned out to be far worse than the 29-year-old could have ever imagined.

It saw the midfielder fearing his hopes of taking on England on Thursday as part of Wales’ history-making Euros adventure had been left in tatters.

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

Click to playTap to play

The video will start in 8Cancel

Play now

But now the fan favourite has outlined how oxygen tents, a 10-year physio friendship and Wayne Hennessey were all part of the incredible lengths he went to in order to earn his ‘Lazarus’ nickname and return a hero in France.

“When I first did it I didn’t think I’d broken my leg, I thought my calf had gone or something like that,” said the 62-cap ace Ledley. “Then two days or a day later I had the X-ray and then obviously it was fractured and broken. I thought that was it, I thought that was game over as it was only three weeks before the squad was going to be named. It was hard to get my head around it.

“When they gave me the results of the X-ray I shed a tear because I had worked my socks off and been in every single qualification game when I’d been available.

“I wanted to be part of the history of making that squad after making the first tournament for 50-odd years which was what I wanted to achieve. When you think ‘Am I going to make it or not?’ it is hard to take.”

Ledley received support from team-mates when the news began to break, with Chris Coleman’s words perhaps the most important with the national manager – so aware of the player’s value as a character as well as a key part of his midfield – told him he would be given until the last possible minute to prove his fitness, even if it meant him missing the Group B opener.

And it sparked the former Celtic and Cardiff man into his desperate and determined battle back to fitness that has shocked outsiders.

“I had a lot of messages from players, staff and ex-players and ex-staff as well,” he said. “Obviously it meant a lot to me and they knew I was devastated and thought I wasn’t going to be involved. They kept saying keep your head up and hopefully you can make it.”

“I was ready to try everything,” said Ledley, who had known Connelly from his days serving at Cardiff under Dave Jones. “I was already going to miss the FA Cup final so I couldn’t miss this. Sean being there was key because he knows my body better than I do. If it wasn’t him involved with both Palace and Wales you don’t know if certain strategies would go against you, but he knew exactly what I needed to achieve.”

The first part of the long road saw Ledley wake up in the early hours to spend long hours in an oxygen chamber before heading to the gym, even in the first few days following the injury.

And even when the slog was over, the bearded star would head home to apply a special ulstrasound machine on his affected left leg in a bid to speed up his recovery time.

Called an Exogen machine, it sends ultrasound waves through skin and soft issues into the fracture, activating cells and reactions to speed up bone repair.

“Everything I had to do , supplements, whatever I could do to make my body better I did and I stayed positive throughout,” he said. “They were long days, but I needed to do it. I’d get up in the early hours, leaving the house at 6am and sitting in an oxygen chamber for an hour-and-45 minutes every day for two weeks.

“After that I’d go back to the training ground to start the work with some pretty long sessions. Then I’d go back home and use this Exogen machine that creates the new bone cells quicker. I’d being using that for 20 minutes and then just go to bed. It was non-stop.”

But it quickly showed signs of paying off. The decision was taken not to use the oxygen machine when he went on camp in Portugal, further scans showing impressive bone development and giving the green-light to move onto the next stage of being back on the grass, all under the watchful eye of Connelly.

“That was when I first thought I’ve got a real chance,” Ledley admitted. “When people saw me training, on the bike, running on the machines, getting used to the impact on the bone, they never would have thought I had broken my leg. Everything just fell into place. After a weeks of hard work in the oxygen chamber getting cells back I got belief from there.”

It carried him through to France, proving Coleman, Hennessey, Connelly and himself right as he held back the emotions to take to the pitch at the Stade de Bordeaux.

Although still wearing protective socks, there is no worry from Ledley over his injury and he says he will be ready to be as full-blooded as ever against England, claiming he his fit to start.

“I will just go for it. If it happens again it happens again but I am lucky enough to be where I am now,” he adds. “It is a remarkable achievement what I have done but you can’t keep that in the back of your mind. You can’t be negative, you have to be positive. There is only three games in this competition.

“I didn’t think I was going to make Slovakia but going on I was excited and it was like playing football in school again. To be out there was emotional. Everything was going through my head and then I had to be out there and play football again. I have been through a lot and it was great to be on that pitch and start passing the ball and start playing with the team – it was one of the best feelings ever.”

One that could be topped yet if Lazarus Ledley and his remarkable recovery spurs his side on to victory over England.